THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510240542
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Higher costs and a wider scope of construction have delayed the start of the last phase of the Atlantic Avenue streetscape program until early November.
Last week the City Council voted to appropriate about $1.5 million in additional funds to cover the increased cost of the project.
Basically, plans call for unsnarling the dangerous merger of Atlantic and Pacific avenues at 42nd Street and dressing up the northern entrance to the resort strip with landscaping, fancy paving and lighting.
The apparent low bidder on the job, Conrad Brothers Inc. of Chesapeake, said it would cost $4.9 million to complete.
The project estimate in the city's Capital Improvement Program was $3.9 million, said Ralph Smith, the city's public works director.
What boosted the cost, Smith said, was a higher charge this year by Virginia Power for burying overhead utility wires along Atlantic Avenue. Also, the scope of the project was expanded by three blocks. It now covers an area from 40th to 45th streets. Original plans limited the scope to 40th to 42nd streets. The $1.5 million appropriation should also cover any unexpected contingencies.
Workers and heavy earth movers could start in the area as soon as Nov. 3, Smith said.
In a recent council briefing, City Engineer John Herzke said plans call for realigning Atlantic Avenue to join Pacific Avenue at 40th Street in a traditional T-intersection, complete with traffic signals and pedestrian crosswalks.
The city has been negotiating with Cavalier Hotel owners to swap about 21,900 square feet of property to make the plan work, Herzke said.
Atlantic Avenue would swing just north and west of Oceans condominium and through the existing Cavalier parking lot sandwiched between Atlantic and Pacific avenues. The existing section of Atlantic fronting the Cavalier Oceanfront Hotel would be deeded to the Cavalier to consolidate its parking.
Once the job is finished, some time in May 1996, city officials foresee continuing beautification work down the length of Pacific Avenue from 42nd Street to the foot of the Rudee Inlet Bridge.
Like the Atlantic Avenue improvements, it is being done in an effort to stimulate tourism. The project is included in a $93-million Tourism Growth Investment Fund initiative approved by the City Council in 1991.
The last phase of the Atlantic Avenue streetscape project will end a a 10-year undertaking that so far has cost about $35 million. It will dovetail with plans now in the making to give Pacific Avenue a face lift.
The Virginia Beach engineering firm of Langley and McDonald has been hired to study the scope and cost of beautifying the three-mile strip in much the same way Atlantic was redone. A Pacific Avenue makeover would include widening sidewalks, adding traffic turn lanes, burying overhead utility lines, extensive landscaping and perhaps reconfiguring side streets that lead into it. ILLUSTRATION: REROUTING ATLANTIC AVENUE
STAFF Map
by CNB